FOUNDATION IN JESUS
BUILDING ON SOLID ROCK
Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior is just the beginning of your life in God. If you have not taken this first step, check out our “Find the Light” page.
Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (Emp. added)(John 17:3)
Every believer’s life pursuit should be to know God and His Word more and more each day, forever following Him.
This is what God wants most for your life, because He loves you and wants you to know Him like He knows you. When you have a personal relationship with God and know His truth found in the Bible, you will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to follow Him and do what the Word says.
“I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him . . . that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Phil. 3:8-10)(NASB)
A believer’s new spiritual life in Christ must be built on the foundation of the true knowledge of Jesus and His Word.
Your understanding of what exactly Jesus did for you on the cross is critical for building a strong relationship with God and His Word.
Let’s take a look at:
why you should build the foundation of your life in Jesus,
what happens when you are reconciled to God, and
what it practically looks like to abide in Him and His Word.
PART I: FOUNDATION IN JESUS AND THE WORD
Why every believer’s life must be built on the foundation of Jesus & His truth.
Check out this video on building your life on Jesus and His Word, the Solid Rock:
“Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.” (Prov. 30:5) (NIV)
When you have a solid-rock foundation, no matter what storm life brings, and no matter what shaking comes in the world, you will stand firm in Jesus. Just because you are a follower of God doesn’t mean you will not encounter problems. The trials of life can come at you suddenly, like the floodwaters of a violent storm or like the core-shaking destruction of earthquakes. If you were to wisely build a house, you would need to take the time and effort to dig deep until you found solid rock. Upon this rock you would lay the foundation to make the house solid. Otherwise, the house might collapse under undue stress. Similarly, when you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, it is wise to dig deep and understand what the Bible says about who Jesus is to you and who you are in Him. The Bible is reliable truth. It’s a believer’s instruction manual for how to build a life in Christ.
You are a house for God.
Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” (John 14:23)(NASB) God Himself comes and dwells within you when you receive Him as your Lord and Savior. God does not live in a building made by people. God lives on the inside of people who love Him. You house the Lord!
Build wisely.
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 7:21) Many will come to Him and claim that they did good works in His name, but Jesus will know them by the spiritual fruit in their lives. (v. 16-19)
Perhaps these people started out doing good things for God, but their hearts didn’t remain in Him and they followed after their own will and desires. Jesus said he will tell them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” (v. 23)
Only those who know God and who do the will of Father will enter the kingdom of heaven.
Dig deep. Build on Jesus.
Jesus said many would hear His words, but warned that hearing alone would not get people into heaven.
Jesus said those who not only heard His words, but acted on them would be wise, like someone who built his house on a rock.
Those who didn’t act on Jesus’s words would be foolish, like someone who built their house on the sand.
Jesus said, “Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against the house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
“But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:47-49)
Only Jesus.
Sand or rock? The world or Jesus? If you build your life on anything else but Jesus, in the end, your own earthly efforts and good works will amount to nothing in the kingdom of God and will have no bearing on whether you enter heaven.
When you build your life on Jesus and His Word, you will have confidence that when you die God will say to you, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter now into the joy of the Lord!”
What about your everyday life? Building only on Jesus and the Word is imperative for living an overcoming life in Christ. You will follow God’s lead in every area of your life, producing spiritual fruit and advancing His kingdom. God promises to always be with you. If your relationship with God is poorly built, the trials and tribulation of this world will shake your life and ultimately your faith.
Jesus said that the world would bring trials and tribulation. But He also said, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) That’s the promise of an overcoming life in Christ. Despite what life brings, you will find peace in this world when your life is firmly built up in Jesus and His Word.
Digging deep to the rock of Jesus.
Your part. When you commit your life to Christ, you turn your back on sin and the ways of the world. You repent of your sin, ask God to remove it and for God to come into your life. You make a decision to follow Jesus and live according to truth of the Word. You put your trust in Jesus, believing that His work on the cross will save you and give you eternal life. Daily, you take up your cross and die to your flesh and the opinion of people. You study the Word of God—God’s instructions for life—and then you act on it. You surrender and lean on Jesus. You follow His Word and the Holy Spirit everyday and trust God with your life that His will would be done. You trust that God is for you, that nothing can separate you from His love, and that He works everything for your good.
God’s part. God does a miraculous work inside of you when you are saved. God washes and cleanses you through applying the blood of Jesus. He takes out the “stony heart” and gives you a “heart of flesh” or a new spirit that is alive in and through Him. The Holy Spirit, the same spirit that resided in Jesus and raised Him from the dead, comes to live on the inside of you. The Holy Spirit is your helper, teacher, advocate, intercessor, counselor, strengthener, standby, comforter and guide. The Spirit will lead you into all truth of the Word of God so that you can live according to His perfect purposes, plans, and destiny for your life. The Holy Spirit will also show you things in your life that need to change and will give you the power to resist the temptation of sin as you lean on Him for a way to escape. God adopts you into His family and you are His child. God wants to reveal Himself to you and conform your character to be like Jesus’s, full of love, grace, and truth.
Synergy. This is “the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.” (Oxford Languages) It comes from the Greek word sunergos or “working together” and is used in the Bible to describe our working together with God.
Jesus commanded all believers, “Go into the world and preach the gospel (or good news of Jesus) to all creation.” (Mark 16:15) After the disciples were filled with the power and fire of the Holy Spirit at Pentacost, they went out and preached about the good news of Jesus. “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them [sunergos], and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.” (v. 19) God promises that as you “go” and follow his will everyday and share Jesus with others, the Lord will work together with you and do His part.
PARTS II & III: RECONCILED TO GOD
What happens when you are reconciled to God.
“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 3:11)
The first part of building your foundation in Jesus is understanding what just happened when you surrendered your life to Him. It’s a free gift of eternal life that you accepted when you believed in Jesus and what He did on the cross. When God reconciles someone to Himself, it is the most amazing, wonderful miracle that could ever happen. Knowing and receiving what Jesus did for you is critical to building your relationship with God. If your foundation in God is faulty—based on a faulty understanding of God—then your whole house will be unstable. Let’s take a look a some of the most basic principles of reconciliation with God.
Check out these videos about how you are a new creation with a new identity (PART II) and are forgiven and justified before God (PART III) when you put your trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior :
New creation.
Jesus said, “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)(NASB) Jesus explained a physical birth, born of the flesh, only produces flesh, which is temporary and perishable. But when one is born of the Spirit, a new spirit is “birthed” or created inside of you by the power of the Holy Spirit.
When you are saved and surrender your life to God, God puts a new spirit inside of you. You become a new creation. The Bible says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.” (2 Cor. 5:17) “And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God.” (Ezekiel 11:19-20)
You are not just a physical body with organs. Humans have 1) a physical body, 2) a soul (will, emotions and intellect), and 3) a spirit is who you are; your eternal being in Christ that survives physical death; in an eternal context, your spirit is sometimes referred to as your “soul” or “heart”).
The Holy Spirit applies these truths to your life so that you no longer walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
New identity.
“But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)
When you believe in Jesus, you are spiritually “born again” into God’s family as His child. As a child of God, you are reconciled to God and you become part of the family of God. You obtain all of the benefits of being His child and share in the inheritance in store for those who love Him. “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:13)
And when you pray, you can go directly to God and talk to Him; you can come to Him like a little child, knowing your Heavenly Father who loves you will not turn you away, but will receive you with joy.
“Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear (or revere) Him.” (Ps. 103:13)
He is your “Father,” your Heavenly “Daddy.” He is unlike the fathers of this world, who are human and imperfect. God is always a good Father and always watches over His children. He knows what is best for you. He loves you more than you can fully comprehend with your mind. He was willing to sacrifice His only begotten Son, Jesus, because He loved you that much and wanted you to be reconciled to Him so that you could belong to Him and be united in Him and His family forever.
Forgiven.
God is holy, “a consuming fire.” (Heb. 12: 29) Nothing impure can stand in His presence. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23) Without application of Jesus’s sacrificial death to your life, you are unworthy to be in God’s presence. It is crucial that a believer apprehend and understand sanctification through Jesus’s shed blood. To be sanctified is to be made holy by God and through faith in Jesus’s sacrifice.
First, the Old Testament, which is God’s Word written prior to Jesus’s coming, teaches us how sin came into the world and how sin separates people from God. In Hebrew, sin means “to miss the mark,” i.e., to fail to meet God’s law/holy requirements.
When Adam and Eve sinned, they were ashamed and unworthy to walk in God’s holy presence. God killed an animal to provide them clothes and to cover them from their shame. It was the first time anything in creation had died. Symbolically, the animal’s life was “sacrificed” to cover the shame and guilt resulting from their disobedience to God. God set apart the Jewish people to follow His holy law and if they broke it, he provided the practice of animal sacrifice to atone for their sin. Jewish priests would regularly sacrifice animals without defect to be an “atonement” or “a wiping clean” and “purging” of the people’s sin. Old Testament law showed us the high requirement to be holy in God’s eyes, and the perpetual sacrifice showed us that humans are incapable of attaining holiness on their own or through their own best-intentioned efforts.
The perpetual sacrifice of animals was an imperfect substitute for people’s sins. It was a foreshadowing of a greater way for reconciliation with God: Christ’s one-time sacrifice and atonement for the sins of the whole world for all time. When Jesus came into this world, John the Baptist identified Him as the Christ, saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
In Isaiah 53, through the prophet Isaiah, who lived more than 600 years before Jesus, God described how “He Himself” (Jesus) would die for us, taking on the sin of us all and the punishment we deserved. The Messiah would be “like a lamb that is led to slaughter.” (v. 7b)
“But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” (Is. 53:5-6)
Therefore, God made a way for humans to be redeemed from sin, death and punishment. Long before Jesus came and died on the cross, God had a plan and was hinting to the world the significance of holiness, sin, sacrifice, atonement, and forgiveness. Through Christ’s “one sacrifice for sins for all time” (Heb. 10:12), those who are repentant can receive forgiveness of sin. Not just that, they will be sanctified, or purified of their sin and made holy, just as Christ is holy.
Because of Jesus’s work on the cross we can pray to God like David, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me,” (Psalm 51:10), and we can be confident that He will do it.
Justified.
The idea of being “justified” or justification, is a legal term. In modern legal systems, it is a legal exception under the law, that if proven true, acquits the defendant of the crime.
Here, according to God’s law, Jesus justifies those that believe in Him. What Jesus did on the cross, taking our place for our sins, makes us “not guilty” and thus justified before God’s eyes.
In Isaiah 53, God further explains what Jesus would do, “the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities . . . . He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.” (Is. 53:11b, 12)
Through Jesus’s holy sacrifice of Himself, believers are justified before God—not according to their own ability to follow the law or to be holy—but only by a believer’s faith in Jesus.
At the cross, Jesus took on all sin committed for all time, and through one’s faith or trust in this fact, Jesus’s righteousness is transferred to the believer. When God looks at you, He sees Jesus’s sacrifice and that punishment required for sin has been satisfied. He sees Christ’s righteousness covering you. He sees Christ in you.
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus . . . baptized into Christ [you] have clothed yourselves with Christ . . . for you are all one in Christ Jesus . . . heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29) Through Jesus, you can enter God’s holy presence, and having been made alive together with Christ and raised up with Him, God has “seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus . . . .” (Eph. 2:5-6)
By putting your faith in Jesus, Christ’s sacrifice reconciles you to God so that you can have peace with God and be holy and blameless before Him through Christ’s cleansing and wiping clean of our sin by His blood poured out.
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! . . . . I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:1b, 25)
It was the Father’s “good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him (Jesus), and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him . . . He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach . . .” (Col. 1:19-22)
PART IV: SIN, GRACE & TRUTH
HOW DOES A BELIEVER DEAL WITH TEMPTATION AND SIN AND WHO IS THE POWERFUL ALLY GOD GAVE YOU?
Check out the answer in this video:
Sin, Grace & Truth.
Let’s talk about sin. Sin is disobedience to God and His Word. It’s giving into your carnal flesh—your sinful nature—which you crucified and put to death when you accepted Christ as your Savior. “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, soccer, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forwarded you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21) This is obviously not an exhaustive list. What about selfish ambition, worldliness, an uncontrolled mouth, gossip, jealousy, coveting, comparing, partiality, boasting, the fear and approval of people, and unbelief, etc?
Jesus said the command to love God with all your heart soul and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself sums up all the law by which we must live. If we apply these two things to everything we do we will not commit the deeds of the flesh above.
How can you do this? What has changed since you put your trust in Jesus? the Bible says, “You who were once slaves to sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (Rom. 6:17-18)
Before you came to God, you were enslaved to sin, reaping the wages of sin leading to death. But when you repented and surrendered your life to Jesus, you were rescued from the destiny of eternal destruction by God’s grace. Remember, you became a new creation in Christ, in which the “old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17) “[N]ow that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:22-23)
So before, you were bound by the “law of sin and death,” or trying to be good on your own, which only produced the fruit of sin and death. But when you died to that law through the body of Christ, you are no longer bound by it, but have been set free by the “law of the Spirit of life.” The guilt, shame, and wrath you felt and constantly put yourself under—never measuring up—has been put to death. You are no longer under the law of sin and death, but under grace. (Rom. 6:14) You must adopt a new mindset that aligns with what Christ did for you in giving you his righteousness. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:1)
As a child of God, His Spirit and His grace now empower you to resist temptation and choose not to sin (yes, you have a choice!), so that you can now live this new life according to God’s truth in the Bible. The law of the Spirit of life is the law of liberty, (James 1:25), to be free from the bondage of our sinful nature that we were born with, and to be free to choose not to sin with the grace and power of the Spirit. The Bible says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:7-8) You can live and walk in the Spirit and resist all temptation because you “belong to Jesus” and “have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Gal. 5:24)
So what happens when a believer sins? Sin is compared to yeast, in which just a little yeast will leaven the entire lump of dough. The Bible says, “Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” (1 Cor. 5:7)
If a believer sins, then they must get rid of it, making their hearts right, by repenting right away and asking God for forgiveness and allowing Him full reign into that area of life.
The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous [or just] to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
God is faithful to forgive and cleanse you if you repent and turn from it. Do you sincerely and in all truth want to change? Don’t play games with God and keep purposely sinning. Instead, walk away from sin. The Word is truth by which we live. You were saved by grace, not so that you can keep violating what the Word says, but so that you can be empowered by grace to put sin to death. “[T]ake captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ,” because “we have the mind of Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:5, 1 Cor. 2:16) Fix your eyes on Jesus. Commit every day to abide in Christ, so that you will “walk in the same manner as He walked.” (1 John 2:6)
Leaning on God, you will keep His Word and will be like the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (v. 5; 1 Cor. 5:8) God does not tempt you, but He is faithful to not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can handle, and will provide a way out. (James 1:13; 1 Cor. 10:13) Remember God loves you and will always receive you if you come to Him like a little child in sincerity and truth. You cannot be righteous or “good” on your own. Righteousness that makes you in right standing before God only comes through faith in applying Jesus’s righteousness to your life. Never forget that we are made righteous in Jesus and are sanctified and justified before God when we pray and ask Him to “forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us [who has offended or wronged us].” (Luke 11:4)(Amp.)
You must surrender every part of your life to God, whether in word or deed, and put Him and His Word first. A believer must also seek to love others with the love God has given you and treat them the way God loves them. Apart from God, it is impossible in your own strength. But with the love of God that you receive as you continue to abide in Him and the help of the Holy Spirit, it is possible to love one another the way Jesus did.
How should a believer overcome sin? By grasping the power of Jesus’s work on the cross and living a life led by the Holy Spirit. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.” (Gal. 5:16-18)
Holy Spirit.
Let’s talk about the Spirit. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God . . . .” (Romans 14:17-18)
When you accept Jesus into your heart, you become the dwelling place for the Holy Spirit to reside on the inside. The Holy Spirit is the seal of your salvation, that your life belongs to God, and a deposit of your inheritance of Christ. It is the same Holy Spirit that lives inside Jesus. It is the same Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead.
Prior to Jesus’s time, on very few occasions, the Holy Spirit would briefly rest upon on certain individuals to do mighty things for God. In the Old Testament, we see the Jewish people built structures, i.e., the tabernacle and the Temple, designed for the Holy Spirit to rest within. But when Jesus was baptized in water, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus out of heaven and “remained upon Him.” In fact, the Holy Spirit resided within Jesus, enabling Jesus to carry out the will of the Father.
Jesus was the first human to be fully inhabited by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit could reside within Him because Jesus never sinned and therefore was pure and holy before God’s eyes. Jesus’s ministry began from that point forward and everything He did was by living and following the guidance of the Spirit. The thing that is unique about Jesus is that He was both fully God and fully human, yet while Jesus was on earth he chose to live as a human, dependent on the Holy Spirit. Jesus is a believer’s model of how to live by the Spirit and not in the flesh. He showed us we can live like Him as we abide in God.
Jesus prophecied that people would not worship at any temple building, but that, “the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth . . . . God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24) What did this mean? Back then, people went to the Temple in Jerusalem where the Spirit rested in the Holy of Holies, a place only accessed by the high priest once a year. But because Jesus’s work on the cross and his torn flesh, the veil that once separated us from God’s Holy presence was ripped open, showing that now through faith in Jesus, we are covered by the righteousness of Jesus, and believers’ physical bodies are now temples of the Holy Spirit. God has set up his abode within you.
The role of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life is multi-faceted. The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment so that the people would see their need for a Savior—Jesus. The Spirit applies Jesus’s sanctifying work to our lives, regenerates us, and gives us a new spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the “Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17)
The Holy Spirit “will teach you all things,” (v. 26), helping you to remember everything Jesus tells us in the Word, and will “guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. The Holy Spirit speaks what the Father speaks, reveals what is to come in the future, and glorifies and honors Jesus. (John 16:7-11, 13-14)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law . . . . if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by [or follow] the Spirit.” (Gal. 5:22-23; 26)
Stay humble and be teachable by the Holy Spirit. As you come to know Jesus, you will become more like Him in character and you will know the truth and the love of God that He desires to perfect within you. (1 John 2:4-5) Character shaping to be like Jesus can be a slow process if you resist change, try to do it in your own strength, or refuse to be humble. Until you get what God wants to teach you, you’ll be walking around the same mountain. Stay humble and let God’s grace carry and empower you as He teaches you.
There is so much more to learn about the Holy Spirit. As you abide in God and the Word, the Spirit will produce spiritual fruit that will have eternal value and effect to impact others for God’s Kingdom. Let the Holy Spirit become your best friend that you can trust and follow.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor. 3:17)
“For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him [Jesus] we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21)
Do you believe it? Believers need to apply this truth to their lives daily. Whenever you mess up or the devil tries to tell you otherwise, just say and remind yourself, “I am the righteousness of God.” You have been set free by Jesus. You are not the person you were yesterday, because God’s mercies are new every morning! Each day, you will learn from you mistakes and ever press on towards maturity in Christ, continuing to grow in God spiritually as you continually follow Him. Forget the past. Move toward God. The old is gone the new has come. One thing you should do:
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13-14)
You have everything you need to overcome in this lifetime because God’s Spirit is with you!
PARTS V & VI: ABIDING
What does it look like to abide in Jesus and His Word?
Check out this video on why believers must abide in Him:
Abiding: Growing in God & His Word.
When you join God’s family, you join through Jesus, as described above. God gives you new spiritual life through Him and His Spirit. Similar to a vine that grows branches, Jesus is the vine, and from Him, our source of life, we grow as branches that are part of Him. Through Him, we receive everything we need to thrive in this life as we abide in Him. Abiding here means to stay or to remain in Him. Only if we abide in Him can we grow and bear spiritual fruit. We must remain in Him now so that we can continue to remain in Him for eternity. We must also remain in Him if we want to produce anything of eternal value for the kingdom of God.
How to build your relationship with Jesus and abide in Him:
In Jesus we are fruitful.
Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:1-2)
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (v. 4-5)
“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” (v. 6)
“And coming to Him [Jesus] as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5)
Make room.
“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come, let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” (Rev. 22:17)(NASB)
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” (Rev. 3:20)
“To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust . . . .Make me know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.” (Psalm 25:1, 4-5)
Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself [or his soul]? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of Him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:23-26)
Set your heart on Jesus. Let Him be the center of your life, and let His Word light up your life. We must make room for God in every part of our lives. You cannot hide anything from God. Surrender and give it all to Him. When you received Jesus, you entered into a covenantal relationship to love and follow Him. You are not your own. You are God’s. Every day, let His will be done in your life. He will not lead you astray. Just as Psalm 23 says, God is the Good Shepherd, who provides, makes you lie down in green pastures, leads you to quiet waters, restores your soul, and guides you in the paths of righteousness. Even if you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will be comforted by His presence. “Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6)
Study the Word.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)(ESV)
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17)(NIV)
“For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)(ESV)
“I have store up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)
“Like newborn babies, long for pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” (1 Peter 2:2-3)
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom . . . .” (Col. 3:16)
“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, bu the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:24-25)
Reading and studying the Bible is a critical lifeline to your growth in God. A branch cannot live without being connected to the vine. Our spiritual food is the bread of the Word of God. You must connect to His Word and hide it in your heart daily. There are layers of truth God wants to reveal to you. There are layers of revelation about Jesus to know. Make reading and studying His Word a priority in your daily life. You cannot live according to His Word if you don’t read it or digest it in your spirit. It’s one thing to have head knowledge, it’s another to allow it to transform the very way you think and act.
The Word of God is a way God communicates with you. The Holy Spirit will teach you and help you understand it. Many people feel like they are unqualified to interpret the Bible. But if you can read or listen to the Word on audio, then you can be equipped with the knowledge of how to read and interpret Scripture for yourself. One of Equip the Light’s main focus in discipleship is to teach people how to read the Bible for themselves. There are some tools of interpretation that are easy to learn that even a child can do it. Reading and understanding the Bible is a huge part of becoming a disciple or follower of Jesus. Check out our discipleship link at the bottom of the page!
Today there are too many opinions by people from their own philosophies of this world about what is truth, how people should live, and how people should think. Maybe what they are saying sounds good. Maybe there is even some truth to it. But does it contradict the Bible? Does it contradict or violate Jesus’s command to love God with all your heart, soul and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself? The Bible helps believers discern what is true and what is false, what is of God and what isn’t, and what is right and what is wrong. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. If we study Jesus and His Word, we can find the straight path through the falsities of this world. “[T]he sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out . . . . he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.” (John 10:3-4)
Prayer.
“Now He [Jesus] was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart . . . . ‘when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?’ ” (Luke 18:1, 8)
“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints . . . .” (Eph. 6:18)
“Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Rom. 8:26)
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)
”Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phil. 4:6)
Jesus taught us to pray. Jesus prayed and showed us what communication with God looks like. He would go away by himself to pray. He would also pray in a group, and taught us how to say the Lord’s prayer unified together, “Our Father, who are in heaven . . . .” (Matt. 6:9)
Jesus prayed when he made decisions. Jesus prayed when he healed people and raised the dead. Jesus forgave and prayed for those who hated him. Jesus prayed for his disciples and people who would believe as a result of their testimony, that’s us, living today. Jesus prayed for the perfect will of the Father be done in his life, even if it meant taking a cup of suffering.
Through prayer, God revealed to Jesus the fruit that would come of his death—those who would believe and be reconciled to God. “For the joy set before him he [Jesus] endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:2) Prayer opens your heart to God and leads to spiritual maturity in Him.
“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you . . . . ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” (John 15:16; 16:24)
God’s ears are always open, ready to talk as your closest friend and Heavenly Father. Don’t forget to listen too, because He might have something important to tell you.
Worship.
“[B]e filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father . . . .” (Eph. 5:18-20)
“Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise is beautiful.” (Ps. 147:1) (NASB)
“For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.” (Ps. 117:2)
“HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME . . . . Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed and were created.” (Rev. 4:8, 11)
“To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” (Rev. 5:13)
Grow with others.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb. 10:24-25)
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. (Prov. 2:3-4)
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. . . . He humbled Himself becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:5-8)
“He [Jesus] took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.’ After supper he took another cup of wine and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.’” (Luke 22:19-20)(NLT)
Jesus said, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matthew 18:20)
Just as the Holy Spirit helps you to pray, you can rely on the Spirit to fill you and help you to worship and lift up the name of Jesus. As you lift up the name of Jesus, the Spirit will begin to move, revealing the presence and glory of God. To worship is to love God.
Fix your eyes on Jesus and begin to love on God in song. You may have a terrible voice, but sing anyway, because God loves your gift of song. You pour out your love for God and exalt the name of Jesus above everything else.
Worship is your natural response to Jesus who has rescued and redeemed you from the curse of sin and death and given you His righteousness and reconciliation through Jesus’s death and resurrection. Through Jesus, you have life—eternal life—and you rejoice with thankfulness for God’s love poured out so that you could be made His child and share in the inheritance of Christ, who is your hope and reward.
You die to your flesh—setting aside your pride, your inhibitions, and fear of the approval or disapproval of people—and surrender your body in worship “as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Rom. 12:1) You imagine you are before the throne of God, where you are “seated in the heavenly realms with Christ.” (Eph. 2:6) You “lift up your hands” to a holy God and “bless the Lord” (Ps. 134:2) with everything that you are, focused on the face of Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Worship is individual and corporate; do both.
Surprise God with your worship. Embarrass Him with your offering of love until His delight overflows with joy and laughter. Be like David, leaping and dancing, unashamed before the One who is worthy of all praise, and say, “I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.” (2 Sam. 6:14-23)
Jesus prayed for His believers to be unified in Him and to love others with the revelation of Jesus’s love for them. The perfect harmony of the trinity—God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit—shows us how to be unified. They each gave preference for one another in love. And the love among the three persons of the trinity is our model of how to love other believers. “I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” (John 17:23) When Jesus lived on the earth, he modeled for us individually how he was one with God His Father and the Holy Spirit. He also modeled how to be unified in God through a group of believers, His twelve disciples. If each believer abides with God, individually obtaining the mind of Christ and His love, then corporately, believers can gather together and give Christ’s love to each other.
Fellowship with other believers is truly rich when studying God’s Word together. You are learning His Word and growing spiritually together. You are singing songs of worship to the Lord together. Each time you meet together you can relate how God’s Word has been active in your week. You can share your struggles and burdens and pray for one another. You will be encouraged and you will encourage others as we all “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12) by applying the Word of God to our daily lives. “[F]or it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Id.)
Fellowship is relationship. God knows how to bring people together in a group, each with different spiritual gifts, so that God can work through each person to minister to the spiritual needs. “Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:2) For eternity we will be together with Christ. Let’s start now, developing God’s love for others. Let the Holy Spirit guide us through our issues according to the Word. Let us deny ourselves and our will, so that we can follow God’s will of loving the members of His body.
The Meeting place is where the believers are. Don’t forsake the gathering of believers. The Church is not some building or organization. “The Church” is made up of people who have put their trust in Jesus. The believers who gathered together in the First Century Church did not meet in the Temple or some organized structure. They generally met in their homes. You can meet in a home, a church, a coffee shop, a break room, etc. Whenever you meet together, He is there too. Just make sure you do meet together and that everyone gets a chance to speak and participate so that everyone is encouraged. Otherwise, you are not operating in perfect unity and love like Christ desires for us.
Follow the Spirit.
“ ‘He who believes in Me, as Scripture said, “From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” ’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive . . . .” (John 7:38-39)
Jesus said, “I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” (John 8:28-29)
“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works . . . .he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” (John 14:10, 12)
The Holy Spirit lives inside of you. Do you realize the magnitude of this? How should we respond?
“But I say, walk habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [seek Him and be responsive to His guidance], and then you will certainly not carry out the desire of the sinful nature [which responds impulsively without regard for God and His precepts].” (Gal. 5:16)(Amp)
More than that, just like with Jesus, the Holy Spirit will lead you to do the Father’s will. God has a great adventure in store for you, one in which you will produce fruit—eternal fruit that will last and impact His kingdom. Jesus said, “Follow Me!” as He called people to be His disciples. Everything Jesus did on earth was according to the will of the Father. He did this through the Holy Spirit leading Him in what to say and what to do. Jesus knew the Scriptures and He prayed a lot; therefore Jesus could recognize God’s voice through the Holy Spirit.
If you want to be in tune with the Father’s heart, you must open your heart and listen to what the Spirit is saying. His leading will never contradict the Scriptures, so you must eat of His Word everyday, as God speaks through His Word too. You must maintain a conversation with God and involve Him in all the aspects of your life. Then go and be obedient to His leading, fully surrendered so God can do His work and share His love.
Tell others.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)
We must tell others about Jesus and what He has done in our lives. Don’t wait. Tell others what you know about Jesus’s work on the cross and what Jesus did for you.
Jesus said, “Everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 10:32-33)
Remember how God wants to work together with you? Jesus lived a life of spreading the good news of the kingdom of God. He lived His life on display for us so that we could follow it and be His his mouth to tell others about the free gift of eternal life that He offers. This is exactly how God planned to spread the good news to the world—through you.
Get God’s heart for lost people. It’s not about you; it’s about them. Do they not also have a right to know about God’s free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus? Freely you have received. Freely give.
Make disciples.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
Just like a branch grows from a vine, a believer grows in Jesus. From the time you are “born again” and receive a new spirit, if you continue to surrender to and follow Jesus according to the Word, the Holy Spirit will grow spiritual fruit in your life, such as love, joy, peace, patience, and self-control. Like a tiny branch that grows into a sturdy, strong branch, as you abide in Him, you will allow Christ to flow more and more through your life to impact others for the kingdom of God. The spiritual fruit will turn into the seed of the Word of God that can be planted in others’ lives. This is becoming a disciple of Jesus. Jesus’s last command to believers was to go into all the world and make disciples of Jesus, teaching them everything that He had taught. Make it your goal you will be a disciple making disciples.
Discipleship.
What does it mean to become a disciple of Jesus? It’s a life of knowing Him more each day. It’s a life of learning His Word and hiding it in your heart, so that when you act and speak to others, it’s His love that comes out of you. You walk each day with His Spirit, doing exactly what He tells you do to and what He tells you to say. This life is about the journey with Jesus and letting His perfect will be done in your life. There is no greater adventure than one in which God is in control. We at Equip the Light want to give you the tools to become a lifelong disciple of Jesus. This next step in your growth is a big one. Are you ready? Check it out!